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Updated on
November 05, 2007,
A.W.
asks from
Kearney, NE
on
November 02, 2007

Waking up from Nap Very Unhappy

Ok I don't know if this is normal but I have a son that just turnned 2 and this has been going on for about 12 months my son is an awsome sleeper at nap time he loves to take his naps and is normally an overly happy child BUT when he wakes up from his naps he is so unhappy and nothing that I have tried has worked so far he will be sad up to 2 hours even through his snack he is very snuggly but even if you sit in the wrong chair, and the right chair will change from day to day I have tried everthing is this at all normal for him to be so sad..... I am drained with trying to come up with new ideas to try diffrent.... Please any ideas are welcome! Thanks for any advice!!!

So What Happened?™

This is very odd what we have decided to do but it has worked for 3 days in a row... If he wakes up grumpy and comes out sad and crying we tell him he has to go back to bed till he is in a happier mood so he will go lay down for about 7-8 min. and then he comes out and we bought him a little vacume (not electric) sweeper (he loves to vacume) so he can vacume or he can sit down and play the panio or just play with his toys till I get his snack ready. So far this has worked and been kind of fun to watch he loves his new vacume. We found this out in a very odd way, one day I was going through paper work and just chucking my trash on the floor till I was done and then I was going to pick it all up at once and throw it away, well he got up before I had a chance to do this and he just started picking it up and putting it in the trash and never got grumpy so he just wants something to do.

Featured Answers

J.O.
answers from
Boise
on
November 03, 2007

Don't worry, it's completely normal. Both my daughters have done the same thing, around the same time. I even have a couple of friends who have complained of the same thing. If nothing helps to calm him, than do nothing. I know that sounds harsh or mean, but I found the more I tried the more aggrevated they got. I would just sit him down somewhere quiet, but close enough to you that he feels safe, and let him cry it out. You'll be there if he starts crying for any reason other than waking up... and it will teach him to work through these things on his own. I hope this helps; this can be very stressful.

More Answers

L.H.
answers from
Des Moines
on
November 02, 2007

I know that if I wake my 15 month old up or get him up before he is ready, he's a little bear. Have you tried letting him wake up on his own and just stay in the crib or bed for a while. Our little guy wakes up and you can hear him babble a bit, pull the velcro bumpers off his crib, lay there and suck his thumb for a bit. When he starts to say "mama" we know he's ready to get up. And sometimes it takes him a good 15 minutes before he's ready to get up. Good luck.

Hi, my son did the same thing at the same age. I remember that he would have heart-wrenching crying fits. I read up on it and tried different tricks. All I can say is that he gradually grew out of it. By age 2, he already had a baby sister and was distracted. I just resigned myself to holding him on my lap, eventually I would turn the tv on to distract him. It is a distant memory now that he is 6. It will soon pass...Good luck!

My youngest is 2 going on 3. I have 2 older children. I had a similar problem with him. He is generally good-natured and sleeps well, but woke up horribly cranky. It went on for a very long time. I'm not sure where it came from, but I found a couple things that worked for us. At 2 they can start understanding choices. I know you can't force happiness, but you can help it along. While my son was still in his crib I wouldn't pick him up until he greeted me kindly. I gave him more appropriate words to use when he would scream. I'd sweetly say "good morning Momma". If he kept creaming, I would just keep repeating this. When he settled down and greeted me kindly he could come out. When kids are 2 they really begin to assert their independence also. They can really seek control. I decided to change his crib into a toddler bed to help him feel more in control. It made a huge difference. He no longer had to scream for me or muster up a sweet greeting. He could get up and greet the day quietly, when he was ready. I hope this helps. It is amazing how far a little control can go! Good luck!

How long is his nap? If my 2 year old sleeps too long she's cranky and also if she doesn't sleep long enough. For her a 1.5-2 hour nap is about perfect. After she wakes up, I just let her sit or still lay on the couch until she's ready to get up and play and then she's happy. If I try to get her into something immediately, she's cranky.

Usually it's because he's still tired. is there something waking him, if so, can he go back to sleep. Maybe it's a wet diaper and changing will allow him to snuggle back in.

Our dau. is the same way. She's a slow to wake up kid, so if we happen to walk by her room and she's justing waking up, she's a crab because from some reason she thinks she has to get up. So, We have a baby gate just in front of her room. Once we know she's asleep, we quietly open it then we don't go upstairs until she's awakened and decided she's ready to get up.

Again, he's 2, so I think sometimes it's all about them "deciding" what their doing, so if they perceived they've made the choice, then their great. Us walking by her room when she was just starting to wake up made her think that we wanted her to get up, so it wasn't her decision.

Don't worry, it's completely normal. Both my daughters have done the same thing, around the same time. I even have a couple of friends who have complained of the same thing. If nothing helps to calm him, than do nothing. I know that sounds harsh or mean, but I found the more I tried the more aggrevated they got. I would just sit him down somewhere quiet, but close enough to you that he feels safe, and let him cry it out. You'll be there if he starts crying for any reason other than waking up... and it will teach him to work through these things on his own. I hope this helps; this can be very stressful.

Hi A.,
My son is like Lisa's. If I go to get him when he first wakes up he is very cranky. I sometimes give him up to 30 minutes to wake up. Sometimes he even goes back to sleep. He likes to be able to sit a little bit by himself. When either one of my boys are crabby or cranky I ignore them. It sounds mean but if they are that cranky they will usually go in their room and occupy themselves and snap out of it. I wouldn't spend 2 hours trying to make them happy. Good luck.
Chris

I am not sure what is going on in your case, but I have an almost 3 year old and I notice that when he wakes up unhappy, crying or mad..he's not gotten enough sleep yet, so I get him to go back to sleep...usually rub his head a little or whatever works. Does he wake up with a dirty diaper? I know that use to wake Jack up too...

Hi...I don't want to sound negitive, and by no means is it ment that way but....Are you reinforcing the negitive behavior? Passive aggressive behavior, no yelling or aggressive behavior on his part but the "unhappiness" is getting lots of responces from you. You are trying so hard to get him happy, I would just let him be, and let him be a slow waker-upper. Let him hear you are happy, maybe singing in the other room and tell him to join you when he is ready and let him be. At 2 he is too young to have you flying through hoops entertaining him to a "happy" state.....Just an idea. M.